speakeasy
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word speakeasy. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word speakeasy, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say speakeasy in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word speakeasy you have here. The definition of the word speakeasy will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofspeakeasy, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Deverbal from speak easy (= speak quietly ); for the history, see Wikipedia at speakeasy § Etymology.
Pronunciation
Noun
speakeasy (plural speakeasies or speakeasys)
- (historical) An illegal saloon or tavern, especially one operated during the American Prohibition period in the 1920s.
- Synonyms: blind pig, blind tiger
- 1946, George Johnston, Skyscrapers in the Mist, page 90:
- Many of the legitimate nightclubs of today sprang like legalized phoenixes from the still-hot ashes of the speakeasies of prohibition days.
- 2020, David Rosen, Prohibition New York City, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN, page 39:
- Retuning to Gotham, he came to intimately know Manhattan's speakeasy scene. “At a speakeasy,” Hirschfeld acknowledged, “you had to be known to get in...each place had its own clientele.” Membership cards, really fake IDs, were common.
Usage notes
- The term conveys connotations of a classy establishment—in which some require a coat and tie—compared with a more downmarket blind pig or blind tiger.
Derived terms
Translations
illegal saloon operated during the Prohibition period
